A Review on Bio-Lubricant Production from Non-Edible Oil-Bearing Biomass Resources in Iran: Recent Progress and Perspectives

Abstract Lubricants are among the largest drivers of global oil demand in the world. The negative environmental impacts resulting from the entry of direct mineral lubricants necessitates the application of bio-lubricants as an excellent alternative to mineral lubricants. The main resources of bio-lubricants are edible/non-edible oils. The use of edible oils as the primary feedstock for bio-lubricant production in developing countries like Iran is being faced with several controversial challenges including the high dependence of the country to edible oils import, the high price of edible oils, the crisis of food shortage, and the negative impact of edible oils on energy security. The application of non-edible oils as a sustainable bio-lubricant resource plays a critical role in lubricant industries. This review provides an overview on bio-lubricant production with a description of various kinds of non-edible feedstocks. A detailed description of different non-edible resources in Iran (e.i. castor, jatropha, microalgae, waste oil/fat, bitter almond, ailanthus, camelina, and waste fish oil) including the characterization, distribution, climate, and quality analysis are presented. Various kinds of chemical modification methods focused on improving the quality of bio-lubricants have been also discussed. This review delivers a comprehensive overview of bio-lubricant synthesis by discussing applications, recent trends, and challenges in this field. The information provided in this study can be of assistance with the researchers and experts involved in the lubricant industry take an effective step to address the challenges ahead in the cleaner lubricants production by relying on sustainable oily resources.